Reminiscent Wharf
by BlueHeeler
Summary: Set at the end of Season 4 - assumes Kate was promoted to Leut-Cmdr and Mike resumed his job at Navcom. I was excited to hear that Jim was coming back for Season 5, so wrote a story of one way I thought it could happen. Hint's of MK, but not an MK story. Re-post from another forum. Usual disclaimers apply - all characters owned by McElroy All Media. All feedback welcome.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was early morning and the sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon, shining its light into the bridge of Hammersley. It had been a long and frustrating patrol for the crew, who were all looking forward to arriving in port in time to be at the pub for lunch.

Between the FFV's that managed to just get back into international waters before the Hammersley found them, the Ice Boat they shadowed for 3 days only to be called away to a fake mayday in time for the Kingston to strike and a suspected drug smuggling operation which resulted in four boarding's and no proof, it was fair to say that morale was low.

To top it all off, their new XO had gone down with a mysterious tropical virus that required him to be taken in a medivac back to Cairns.

Charge, Swain and Dutchy had all made their way to the bridge for the morning watch joining RO and 2Dads.

"Morning all." Kate said as she entered the bridge, trying to at least sound positive, which wasn't all that hard given she was thinking about seeing Mike later that day.

"Morning Ma'am," was the collective groan from the crew, none even trying to match her enthusiasm.

"Come on lads, you can do better than that – just think we'll be back in port in a few hours and you'll all be down at the pub!" was Kate's response, trying to end the patrol on a good note.

"What's going on Ma'am, it's almost like you have something to look forward to when we get back in..." Dutchy responded with as he smiled, referring to the reunion he knew she was planning with Mike. He wasn't quite sure if that comment was going to earn him a laugh or one of _those_ stares. But it was the end of the patrol and he figured it was worth a shot.

Everyone on the bridge fell quiet at his comment and just waited for the response – no-one too sure which way it would go, but the juniors figured Dutchy, Swain or Charge were probably the only ones that would get away with that sort of comment. Everyone knew about Kate and Mike, it's just that no-one ever spoke about it.

Kate might have let Dutchy get away with a comment like that in private, but on the Bridge in front of the crew was a different matter. She was about to pull him into line when she decided that it was the end of the patrol so the best course of action was no action. She rolled her eyes and turned to Swain, "Swain, you must have some plans?"

Trying to hide his smile at Dutchy's last comment, Swain replied "Well, Chloe has a recital on, but that's in 4 days so I can only go assuming we don't get called back early from leave." Charge had picked up on the light-hearted conversation and decided to join Swain at the helm. He figured if Kate didn't crack at Dutchy's comment then she must be in a good mood which meant he could have some fun.

"You know what we need Swain," Charge started, "Is someone who has a vested interest in Hammersley staying in port for all of its 6 days leave. Someone who holds some influence over a second someone who works at Navcom." he finished with turning to look straight at Kate.

Dutchy and 2Dads were already trying to stifle their laughs, when Swain followed up with "And ideally, the second someone at Navcom would have a vested interest in the first someone staying ashore for some time." At that comment, everyone had a bit of a chuckle, trying not to draw too much attention to themselves.

"You know what, you boys are lucky this is the end of our patrol, and not the beginning." Kate responded with, taking a deep breath, rolling her eyes again and starting to chuckle a little herself. She certainly didn't like where this conversation was headed, but was happy that the crew seemed to have been bought back to life. That was, until Bird entered the bridge carrying a tray of coffee's and announced that breakfast was ready.

"Great, what are we having?" asked 2Dads, regretting his question as soon as Bird spoke.

"Muesli, left over chicken meatballs, or toast with no butter." was the glum response from Bird that was met with a round of growls from the crew. "Well it's not my fault; we were out here for longer than expected and have virtually no food left. Anyway, I figured no-one would eat so I bought these up." She said delivering the coffee's to mixed responses.

As Bird handed out the coffees, RO accepted a call from Navcom. "Ma'am, Commander White on the line for you." If the fun hadn't been sucked out of the room before with Birds breakfast offerings, it certainly was with that comment. Everyone was holding their breath watching Kate, hoping against all hope that their patrol was not about to be extended. They weren't too sure what to make of Kate's initial response to the Commander.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but is this some sort of joke?" Kate asked laughing, regretting the comment almost instantly. Apparently the light-hearted mood she had tried to create on the bridge had not filtered back to Navcom and Commander White was in no mood to be messed with. Kate had to pull the phone back from her ear as Maxine responded.

"Lieutenant-Commander McGregor, I don't know if there is some sort of practical joke going on, but when I give an order I expect it to be followed, not to have two of my senior officers ask if I am joking. Reminiscent Wharf is almost on your direct route back to port, so you are to call in there and pick these boys up, is that understood?" By this point Kate was holding her palm to her forehead and closing her eyes wondering if anything was going to go to plan today.

"Yes Ma'am," was all she could respond with, before she registered what Commander White had just told her. "Um, sorry Ma'am, you said two senior officers?" Kate Asked

"Yes, apparently Commander Flynn found this amusing as well, why is that?" Maxine responded, a little calmer now.

Chicken is all Kate could think – what a chicken, he should have been the one to call this through. Well, two could play at that game, "I'm sorry, Ma'am, you would need to ask him that." Kate didn't want to have this conversation with Maxine at all, let alone with half the crew listening in. Maxine was frustrated by the conversation and wanted to know what was going on, but had bigger things to worry about so said farewell and hung up the phone. Kate handed the phone to RO and started shaking her head, rubbing her forehead with her fingers.

"Ma'am?" Dutchy asked. From the conversation they heard, the crew knew a something was happening, and were thinking the worst. 2Dads and Bird were muttering about a lack of food if the patrol was to be extended.

Kate took a deep breath before responding "Dutchy, set a course for Reminiscent Wharf, we need to pick up some passengers." Kate only gave as much information as was needed, she knew the rest would come out, but wanted to delay it as much as possible. "It's on our way so should only cost us an hour or so." The rest of the crew were relieved and let out an audible sigh.

This was only a short detour and Dutchy couldn't understand Kate's reaction. "Ma'am, is there any reason why the Navy is being used as a taxi service?" Dutchy asked. Kate thought about ignoring the question and just ordering him to do it, but knew the morale was almost back to where it was when she first walked onto the bridge, and she really wanted to end the patrol well.

"The passengers are Army, they were on the island doing some training. There was supposed to be a chopper to pick them up, but it was called away, and we are in the area." She responded with, hoping that would be the end of it. And for Dutchy, it was. He seemed to accept the answer and went about plotting the course.

Swain and Charge were still standing together and exchanged a knowing look, "Army, hey Charge," Swain said, "What do you think the chances are that they are SAS?" At this comment, Kate knew the gig was up and slumped back in the Captains chair pinching the top of her nose.

"Well..." Started Charge "Given the current body language, on top of the prior conversation where our fearless leader asked her CO if she was joking after being given an order, I'd say the chances are pretty good." Kate wanted to be anywhere else right now, even on board a smelly, rotten fishing boat. But worse was still to come. She hadn't realised that half of the crew on the bridge didn't know the story, and Charge and Swain were already starting to chuckle.

"What's the SAS got to do with it, those blokes are alright aren't they?" Dutchy asked. 'Oh god', Kate thought. She wanted this conversation to stop, and fast, but the mood the crew were in, there was only one direction this conversation was going in. There was only one option; she had to get off the bridge.

Standing from the Captain's Chair and straightening herself "I'm heading down to get some muesli." she announced, "And when I come back I trust everyone will be focussed on their tasks?" She said looking at Charge and Swain. It was said seriously enough, but not a in her _this is a direct order tone_, hoping they would take the hint and get it out of their system before she came back. It seemed to work as they responded with "Yes, Ma'am," even if it was with a bit of a smirk and chuckle.

Kate half smiled and left the bridge. As she closed the door, she could hear Charge and Swain laughing. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath then smiled while shaking her head and walked to the galley. At least the mood had improved, even if it was at her expense. She knew the crew respected her, and even liked her. This had been a bad patrol and she knew they all needed a bit of relief. These weren't just her crew they were her friends as well, and she knew when things turned serious there was no-one else she would rather have with her. Except maybe for Mike.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Back on the bridge, Dutchy, 2Dads and Bird couldn't work out what had just happened. "Sorry boys, but have I missed something here?" Dutchy asked

"I think I'm missing the same thing." 2Dads added

"And me makes three." Added Bird, all three of them looking at Swain and Charge. Swain and Charged tried waving them off, but the three un-informed sailors knew something was up.

"RO, you're being pretty quiet over there," stated 2Dads. He knew RO would know what was going on, he always did, he just never said anything. RO was having none of it, and wasn't about to gossip about his CO.

"I know everything – Hammersley has been tasked to call into Reminiscent Wharf to pick up some soldiers then return to port." That just worked 2Dads up even more, he hated feeling left out.

"You know RO, I reckon you could suck the fun out of sucking the helium out of balloons." Everyone just turned to look at 2Dads trying to figure out what he had just said. He shrugged, looked at Dutchy and said "It sounded better in my head."

Dutchy just shook his head and turned his attention back to Swain and Charge. "Come on boys, what's going on?"

Charge and Swain looked at each other, and Charge asked, "Are you three telling us that you never heard the story about the Boss and the SAS Captain?" Bird, 2Dads and Dutchy just looked confused and shook their heads. Charge leaned in and whispered as though he was telling them a state secret "The Boss and Captain Roth from the SAS were seeing each other." Charge stood up and looked quite proud of himself. The three of them looked just as confused, then shocked, and weren't sure what question to ask first. Bird's eye's had opened right up, because let's face it; most girls love a good gossip. 2Dads was starting to look as though he finally had something to hold over Kate, while Dutchy started to look a lot more serious.

When no-one spoke, all the questions came from Bird, and all at once "Are you serious? When was this? How long were they together? Were they serious? How did they meet? How did they break up? Was it mutual? Does Commander Flynn know?..."

She was about to continue when Charge stopped her "Slow down there Bird, actually..." now it was his turn to look confused and turned to Swain "actually, we don't really know that much. It was about 18 months ago wasn't it Swain?"

"We were in Samaru, so yeah, about 2 years" Swain responded "But I think they were already together when his SAS troop and Hammersley started working together. Don't really know how serious they were, serious enough that Kate didn't hide it from any of us. I mean she didn't seem all that bothered that we all knew what was going on, and we all saw them together a fair bit. Don't know how or why they broke up either – but that happened just after Flynn got hurt rescuing him didn't it Charge?" Swain explained as he turned to Charge to see if he could fill in any of the blanks.

"I think so, we didn't see him any more after that anyway." Charge added in. Dutchy then asked about how and why Mike got hurt, Charge was about to explain the incident in Samaru before Bird spoke up again.

"Wait, are you telling me you know nothing more the Boss and this Captain guy?" Charge and Swain shrugged and said that was pretty much all they knew – they were blokes and apart from the knowledge that their XO was together with an Army Captain, what did they really care. That was enough for Bird "Honestly, men are useless." She threw her arms in the air and left the bridge to return to the galley. As she left Charge and Swain continued to fill Dutchy and 2Dads in on the incident in Samaru and what had happened to Mike while he was rescuing Jim Roth.

Returning to the Galley, Bird found Kate eating her breakfast and knew she had to say something, "It's safe for you to go back up there, I think they are over it now. And you don't need to worry, you're lucky they are all boys, it means they pretty much know no details, and were more keen to talk about how Mike..I mean..Commander Flynn got hurt rescuing him." Bird continued and started to babble when Kate didn't say anything "Ma'am, I know I'm younger than you, and, well, I have been known to talk a fair bit, but I can listen too if ever you did want to talk. I mean you have helped me out before and girls have got to stick together..."

"Bird" Kate said loudly and interrupting her "It's ok..really. I'd better be heading back up there; we can't be too far away now." Kate then placed her bowl in the sink and headed out of the galley. As Kate reached the bridge, she could hear the others talking and paused for a minute to hear what they were saying. 2Dads was fired up, and Dutchy was just as angry while Swain was trying to calm them both down.

"I mean, after all the crap she gave me last year about that crocodile, and then Bomber, and it turns out she was with a guy that nearly got half the team blown up, and the next guy she is with is her CO. Its crap!" 2Dads continued ranting but Dutchy cut him off.

"Listen mate, the Boss is the only reason you still have a job after both the crocodile incident _and_ Bomber. As for the explosion, that was the work of mercenaries – a shore party would have had to go in there no matter who it was. When it comes to her relations ship with Flynn, neither of them were dumb enough to try anything while they were both on the same ship!" Kate couldn't see it, but Dutchy was standing over 2Dads and starting to get quite aggressive. That's when Swain spoke up.

"Come on boys. The one thing we all know for sure, is the Boss has always got our back. She would never abandon us, and 2Dads, do you seriously think the bosses at Navcom would give her a promotion if there was even a suggestion that she was in a relationship with her CO? Now, can I suggest we all return to our duties?" It may have only been a suggestion, but no-one was going to argue.

None of them knew Kate over-heard the entire exchange. She had to stop herself from running in and throttling 2Dads when he was going off, but was immensely proud of Dutchy and Swain, not only for sticking up for her, but they way they did it. When she first came onto Hammersley, she had never imagined staying there, or forming the bonds with the crew that she had. She made a mental note to do something good for them later, but for now, it was time to come out of hiding.

As she opened the door, everything was quite and the crew were all going about their jobs. "Are we still on course for Reminiscent Wharf Dutchy?"

"Yes Ma'am, ETA 20 minutes." Dutchy replied.

"Very good. Let's make this pit stop and head home." She smiled as she spoke and looked at Dutchy while he smiled back and nodded.

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	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Hammersley had made good time and was arriving at Reminiscent Wharf a little before 10am. The crew on the bridge were mostly quiet and looking over to where they saw four SAS soldiers packing up the remainder of their gear. The bridge was still tense after the earlier exchanges, so all they wanted was to pick up the soldiers as quickly as possible and head back home. As they docked, Kate stood from the captain's chair "Alright, Dutchy with me, let's get this done ASAP. Charge, you have the ship." With that, both Kate and Dutchy left the bridge and walked up the wharf to meet the soldiers.

Dutchy could tell that Kate was tense and that now was no time for joking, but she was away from the others he wanted to make sure she was ok. He didn't know anything about Jim, or the relationship they'd had, and he wanted to stay ahead of any potential confrontations. "Ma'am, are you ok with all this? I mean dealing with ex is never fun, and before you spin me some line about this being a job, it's me...Dutchy...you can talk to me." Dutchy smiled as he looked to Kate, hoping that everything would be ok.

Kate took a deep breath in before she responded, "No, look, it should be fine." Then she started stumbling, "I mean, it was, we had, but it was never, when it ended, it was.." Then she turned to look at Dutchy regaining her composure. "We are Navy and Army, who were we kidding right? This should be fine, but thank you, for being concerned."

They both smiled and walked over to where the SAS were still packing up their gear, when Jim walked over to meet them half way. He noticed the new rank on Kate's shoulder and was the first to speak.

"Lieutenant Commander." He smiled and nodded in Kate's direction. "Congratulations on the promotion, you're looking well." He held his hand out to shake Kate's hand as he reached her.

"Thank you, you're looking well yourself," Kate said as she shook Jim's hand, but not letting go.

"So, does this mean there is no Lieutenant Commander Flynn on Hammersley?" Jim asked.

"Commander Flynn," Kate said correcting him. "Has taken a shore posting at Navcom," Kate said now smiling.

"So, the two of you aren't on the same boat anymore?" Jim said now starting to smile. By Kate's reaction to his name, he knew what that meant for the two of them and despite everything that had happened he still wanted her to be happy. Kate just shook her head indicating no and was about to speak when Dutchy interrupted them with a cough.

"Sorry," Kate said finally dropping Jim's hand. "Captain Roth this is Petty Officer Mulholland. Dutchy, Captain Roth." Kate made the introductions between the two men as they shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

Dutchy was polite enough, but reserved, still not knowing what to make of Jim. There didn't seem to be any animosity between them but he wasn't sure if he liked the way he was looking at Kate. He knew Kate was happy with Mike, and that right now he was going to have to be the one to stop Jim if he was going to cause problems for them. And possibly to save Kate from herself by the way she held onto his hand for a moment too long.

"Dutchy why don't you give Jim's men a hand with their gear so we can get going?" Kate suggested in an effort to get moving, but Jim stopped that.

"Actually, it's not going to be as simple as that," Jim said as one of his men yelled out that they were ready to start when he was. Kate and Dutchy looked at Jim waiting for an explanation. "Two of my men were doing one last sweep of the bushland. We had a radio transmission from them 30 minutes ago, but nothing since and we were expecting them back 20 minutes ago. We were just about to head off searching for them when we saw your boat and thought we'd wait for you – the more eyes looking for them the better, this bushland is pretty thick."

"You're kidding right?" was all Kate could manage, while Dutchy slumped his shoulders and put his head down. Jim just shook his head indicating that he wasn't kidding.

By way of explanation Jim continued. "We are here officially for training and while we have been doing some of that, unofficially we were looking for some drug runners that the AFP think are basing their operation here. We found no trace of them in five days and so we were called back in. On our last group search we found a stream that was heading inland to an area that we had searched and thought would be ideal place to base the operation, but there was nothing there when we searched. The boys were just going to take one last quick poke around and come straight back, but it looks like they might have found something," Jim explained.

"Or something found them," Dutchy added grimly, both he and Kate realising now how serious this was.

"OK," Kate said. "Dutchy, prepare a search party. You, me, Swain, 2Dads and Bird. No need for boarding jackets, but I want everyone in Kevlar vests, and armed. We leave in five minutes. Jim, your men can store their gear on the ship while we search, and you can show me on the map where it is we are heading."

"Ma'am," Dutchy said in acknowledgement of his orders. He called out for the remaining three soldiers to bring their gear onto the ship and headed back to break the bad news to the others. This left Kate and Jim alone walking back to the Hammersley so they could look at the maps and Kate could get prepared.

"Why is it that things are never straight forward with you?" Kate said as she turned to walk.

"That's a bit harsh isn't it?" Jim said. "I mean I could say the same about you, you did claim to be in Human Resources if I remember correctly," he said smiling, almost trying to provoke her into an argument.

"Yes, but then you claimed to be an accountant. And it's not my crew that are missing right now delaying our departure," Kate said having none of the argument Jim was trying to have.

She stopped and turned to Jim, "Jim, ahh, about everything that happened, the internet, lying about who we were, and why we broke up...you're not...I mean...not all of the crew...some things have happened..." Kate was seriously babbling now and couldn't seem to get the right words out. This was the awkward conversation she had been expecting earlier, and the sort of conversation she was never very good at.

"Don't worry, I won't say a word," Jim said saving Kate. "It's not like I want my men knowing the whole truth either. And like I said at the time, we had fun right? That's all anyone needs to know."

"Right," Kate said smiling at him, remembering some of the good times they'd had together "But, this isn't really the time for reminiscing, we better get a move along."

"Maybe it's not the right time, but it's not a bad place" Jim said laughing and looking at Kate who didn't seem to understand. "A trip down memory lane, reminiscing, Reminiscent Wharf..." Kate just shook her head, rolled her eyes and laughed.

They went into the senior sailors' mess where they were joined by Charge to have a look at the maps and develop a search plan. The terrain was very uneven, there was a lot of cliffs, and according to Jim, some of the bushland was very thick. In their five days of searching, they only found one spot that could be used as any sort of base. Jim explained that it looked like there had been some activity there, but that it could have just as easily been campers as drug runners. The SAS had camped there for a night but saw no-one.

There was a well hidden inlet that split into two rivers, one straight up to the clearing they were headed for, whilst the other twisted and turned and wasn't as deep. Kate and Charge compared the map they were looking at, with Jim's map which had updated markings from the expeditions they had done. It looked like the river used to be much larger but had dried up over the years, and wasn't clearly marked on the new maps onboard Hammersely. It was the inlet and stream that they had seen and the two men were headed back to. Jim and Kate formed a plan and went to get the others.

As Jim and Kate entered the weapons locker, the others were all assembled and gearing up for the search. To their relief, there didn't seem to be any hostility between the two groups – the soldiers were worried about their mates, and the Hammersley crew knew that in these situations armed forces stick together. They could leave the Army/Navy banter for later. As Dutchy helped Kate into her vest and got her radio on, they handed out their orders.

"Right," Kate started. "We split into 2 teams, Swain and 2Dads with me - Team Charlie. Dutchy and Bird you're Team Alpha with Captain Roth. Jim?" Kate turned to Jim to allow him to split up his troops.

"Macca, you're with me on Team Alpha. Raz and Grant, your with Lieutenant Commander McGregor." Jim continued issuing the orders for the search, while Dutchy fitted him out with a Navy radio "We are heading into a clearing a couple of clicks inland." Kate then cut in with instructions for the teams.

"Both teams leave from here in the rhibs to an inlet north of here. When we get there we will head in on foot. Team Charlie, we will take the main river, Team Alpha will take the smaller river. All things being equal, we will meet up at the clearing, and with a bit of luck find your missing men. Everyone clear?"

"Yes Ma'am!" was the universal response and they all headed out.

As they were leaving, RO called out to advise Kate that Navcom were on the line and were after an update. Bugger Kate thought. She had been thrown by seeing Jim again and hadn't advised Commander White that there was a problem. She really should have taken the call herself, but they were all keen to get going. They had no idea where the missing soldiers were, or how much trouble they were in.

"Charge," Kate called out to Charge who had followed them into the weapons locker. "I need you to take the call, fill them in on what's going on and let them know we have gone ashore and will be back soon." She knew that by doing this she was likely to cop a rocket from Commander White when she got back, but she would deal with that then.

"Right-o, happy hunting," Charge replied. And with that, they all left the ship to begin their search.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

As the two teams approached the inlet, they noticed a large pleasure cruiser sitting off shore not too far away. Taking every step to be extra cautious, they stopped the rhibs just before the mouth of the inlet so they could remain unseen. The Navy had to rely on the Army at this point as they were the ones that had seen the area they were heading into.

"We can both get out here. Team Charlie can cross the river at one of the narrow points not far in." Jim said as Kate agreed.

"Right-o" Kate said. "Team members stay within eye-contact of each other so we can keep radio activity to a minimum. Contact between teams only of necessary. If there is anyone out here, they may be able to pick up on our transmissions. We all keep to our tracks, and meet up at the clearing." She looked toward Dutchy and nodded in his direction as he nodded back, almost as if to say _we're both ok, let's go_.

They began walking down through the bushland on the banks of the inlet. As expected, not far in the inlet split into two, both teams followed the smaller river. A couple of hundred metres in Team Charlie were able to cross over where they would track back to the start of the larger river.

"Look after yourselves Team Charlie." Jim called out as the last of the team crossed the stream. It was said as a general comment, but he just happened to catch Kate's eyes as he spoke.

Kate nodded back and replied, "No heroics Team Alpha."

"No Heroics," and "Yes Ma'am," was the simultaneous response from Jim and Dutchy respectively, who then turned to face each other. They had both assumed that she was talking to them.

A hundred thoughts ran through Kate's mind at that point – was it really a good idea having those two in the same team? Would they kill each other or become friends? Between killing each other and becoming friends, which would be worse? Why did her ship have to be the one called in to help? Before she drove herself insane, she just nodded in their direction and led her team out through the scrub.

_Team Alpha's Trek  
_Jim's team was making good time down their track as the bush land wasn't too dense. At the rate they were going, they would meet up with the other team at the clearing at the same time, despite their track being longer. There wasn't much conversation happening as Dutchy and Jim still weren't too sure what to make of each other. They still had another kilometre to go before they would approach the spot where the missing men had been heading back to, so Jim decided to try and start a conversation. He and Dutchy were walking on one side of the stream, with Bird and Macca, the other SAS soldier, on the other.

"So, how long have you been on Hammersley?" Jim asked as Dutchy looked at him. "There was another Buffer when we worked together in Samaru." He added.

"About 12 months now." Dutchy said saying no more than he needed to.

"You enjoying it? From what I remember they are a pretty close crew." Jim asked. He was partly just trying to make conversation, partly trying to get to know someone he was now working with, and partly trying to get around to asking how Kate really was.

"Enjoying it fine, thanks," was Dutchy's short reply. Seeing the way Kate and he interacted he knew their relationship must have ended amicably, but that didn't mean he was ready to trust him.

"Listen, Dutchy," Jim could sense the hostility and wanted to put Dutchy at ease. If for no other reason, they had a job to do here. "I'm not the enemy here. I'm not here to cause problems..."

Then Dutchy interrupted him, "That's good because you know it's a Buffer's job to protect the Captain, and its crew." He knew he shouldn't have said that. It was basically a threat against an Army Captain, but he wanted it out there.

"Mate," Jim said trying to keep things casual, "I just want to know if she's ok. Happy, even." Dutchy just looked at him, as Jim went on "I cared about her, once upon a time." Jim figured it was time to put his cards on the table. He figured Dutchy was either going to kill him, tell him what he wanted to know, or they were going to continue in silence. "Maybe it's not in the same way anymore, but I still care."

Dutchy realised then that he had only been looking at this from Kate's perspective, and really had no idea what Jim was going through. No-one had been able to tell him why they had broken up, and for some reason he had assumed Jim had broken up with her, which somehow made him the bad guy. Now he was starting to realise that may not have been the case. Given his comments about Mike when he and Kate first spoke, Dutchy was starting to think that there was every chance it was because he had figured out what took the rest of the crew a further 18 months or so. That as far as Mike and Kate are concerned, no-one else stands a chance – not him, and not Jim.

"Yeah, she's happy," Dutchy finally said just as Jim was about to give up on him. "Well, as happy as she can be I guess." Dutchy said with hint of a smile. He was starting to realise Jim may not have been the threat to Kate he thought he was.

"Sounds about right," Jim said laughing "She always could be a bit intense." Dutchy chuckled as well as they continued to walk.

"Boss!" Macca called out disrupting the two men. "This is the mark we left yesterday and where the boys were headed back to. They have added another mark so they must have made it here."

"Ok" Jim said acknowledging the new development, "Eye's open from here, they'll have left a trail. The clearing is about another kilometre on from here."

Team Alpha acknowledged Jim and made their way quietly down the track.

_Team Charlie's Trek  
_Because of how they had to enter the inlet, all of the team were on one side of the river. The bushland was quite dense, so they were all walking in close formation.

"Hey Swain," Kate began to ask, "This river looks deep enough, you think you could get a boat in here?"

Swain had a good look around then nodded. "You'd get a tinny in here no problems, and at high tide you'd probably get a decent size boat in here. A few tricky points, but if you knew what you were doing, you could get it in safely."

"What are you thinking Ma'am?" One of the SAS boys asked. "That they may have been taken out by boat?"

"Well maybe," Kate replied, "but I don't think so. That cruiser had no real reason to be sitting off shore, so if someone was here, I'd say they still are. We did a couple of boarding's looking for drugs based on intel received from the AFP, but they didn't turn up anything. This place could be used as a drop-off/pick-up point for the couriers." Kate explained her thinking and there weren't too many arguments.

"Sounds about right," Swain added, "This close to a main port you'd be pretty unlucky to be picked up and searched on your way back in. Then you would just need a plan to get though customs, but coming in by boat is certainly easier than through an airport. If you were smart, you might even have two or three hand-over points."

"The vessels we searched were north of here," Kate pointed out, "and headed back to international waters, so they had probably already made the drop. No wonder they all looked so smug."

By this point the two SAS men were a few metres ahead when one of them, Raz, turned around and spoke, "Looks like you were right Ma'am." And he pointed to the water ahead. "The clearing is just over there." He said pointing to his left.

In the water to the right there were two boats, one inflatable rhib and one smaller size house boat. "I'd say the rhib belongs to the cruiser, and the houseboat is here to do the pick up." Kate pointed out.

As they got closer to the boats they could see that no-one was near them. "They must all be at the clearing." Raz said, "It's just over there."

Kate agreed. "Alright, let's move in for a closer look. Everyone stay quiet."

As the team moved in toward the clearing, they could hear voices. They couldn't make out what was being said, but they were clearly unhappy. As they cautiously circled around, they could see the two missing SAS men tied up sitting back to back. There were two other men heavily armed with guns standing around. Just as they were trying to figure out what was going on Team Alpha arrived, their track leading straight up to where Team Charlie had taken cover behind some rocks.

They were looking around trying to figure out the best way to get their two men back, and apprehend the other two. They were still a fair way back hiding in the bush, and they weren't going to be able to get very close without being seen.

"Any move we make and your men instantly become hostages." Kate whispered. "We need to do this carefully. We can get closer if we move around over there, but we will still need a distraction in the opposite direction to get in to your men first."

"Any suggestions?" Jim asked

"Ma'am!" Dutchy said quietly, but urgently "If you had a plan, you might need a new one." Dutchy said as he pointed to the other side of the clearing. "Two men with guns just became four."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

They watched as two new men walked into the clearing, they knew they had to act fast or this was going to get out of control.

"The plan will still work, there just isn't much room for error." Kate said then turned to look at Jim, "There are some boats back over there." She pointed in the direction of the boats as Jim just looked at her, "You remember our second date in Samaru?" Kate said and watched as the penny dropped for Jim.

Dutchy meanwhile, was trying to figure out what the heck their second date had to do with the situation they were in now. He was about to ask what the plan was when Jim responded.

"I don't know as much about boat engines though." Jim said.

"2Dads, go with Captain Roth to help him create the distraction. He'll fill you in on the way, and I have a feeling you are perfect for this job." Kate said as she motioned for the two men to get going before adding "Good luck."

"Good luck yourselves. We will be with you as soon as we can." Jim said as the two men made their way back to the boats.

"Right, everyone listen up, we don't have much time." Kate started speaking as everyone came in closer to listen to their orders. "Jim and 2Dads will create the distraction; an explosion, coming from the direction of the boats. Bird, Dutchy and Macca you three come with me around to the side closest to our missing men. Swain, Raz and Grant, you make your way around to the other side. When the explosion goes off, Bird you get straight to the men,"

"Dave and Ashy," Macca said interrupting Kate with the men's names.

"Right," Kate said realising for the first time she hadn't even asked their names. "Bird, head straight over to Dave and Ashy. Untie them as quick as you can and make sure they are ok. Use this if you can't undo the rope." Kate pulled out a Swiss army knife and handed it to Bird. "The quicker you untie them, the less likely they are to be used as hostages."

"Yes Ma'am." Bird said as she took the knife from Kate.

"Dutchy, Macca, Raz and Grant – you four focus on one man each, whoever is closest to you when the explosion goes off." Kate said as she continued with the orders before turning to Swain. "Swain, you and I help with whoever is putting up the most resistance. With a bit of luck, they will think they are surrounded and surrender. Weapons at the ready, but only fire if they fire first. Understood?"

They all responded with "Yes Ma'am," and the group moved to get into their positions.

Swain, Raz and Grant made their way around to the other side and were quickly out of sight. Kate's team moved around closer to the two SAS men being held, taking cover behind some thick bushes.

"Ma'am," Dutchy whispered as he leaned in close to Kate, "This isn't the right time, but later I am going to need to ask what your second date has to do with an explosion."

"You could always ask Mike," Kate responded, "He was the one that had to provide cover fire from Hammersley."

Dutchy just looked at Kate thinking _what the heck kind of date was this?_ He was about to ask when Kate pointed in the direction of the boats.

Before she had a chance to say anything there was an almighty explosion, and both groups sprung into action. As instructed, Bird ran straight toward the SAS men and went to work. The others all had their weapons out moving quickly calling 'Australian Navy!', 'Australian Army!' and 'Put your weapons down!' They had the four men surrounded. Two of the men put their weapons down and were subdued by Dutchy and Grant.

"Come on mate. It's over, put your gun down and live to fight another day." Raz said trying to talk down his man.

It looked like the situation was under control as the remaining men appeared to surrender. They still had hold of their weapons but were holding both arms in the air. As Raz and Grant stepped forward to apprehend the men, one of them dropped his gun and started running. He wasn't very successful as Swain and Raz were quick to work together and crash tackle him into the ground. Unfortunately for Kate and Macca, the other man was smarter.

Kate and Macca were distracted for only a second, but that was all their man needed. Using his shotgun he swung at Macca, hitting him hard in the face and knocking him to the ground. He then used the butt of the gun to hit Kate flush in the chest and as she stumbled he made his move and ran. Kate recovered quickly and ran after him. But Macca was left badly injured and couldn't get up, blood pouring from his nose.

Just as Kate ran into the bush and out of sight, Jim and 2Dads returned to the group. Swain called out for 2Dads to help Bird who hadn't yet been able to completely free the men. Jim looked around at the group and when he couldn't see Kate he called out.

"Dutchy!"

"That way!" Dutchy called out as he pointed the direction he'd seen Kate run in. "Go! I won't be far behind."

As Jim ran off into the bush, Dutchy started issuing orders. "2Dads, hurry up there, I need you to take over here. Swain, if you two have that guy under control, take a look at Macca, he looks pretty messed up."

Kate meanwhile was chasing the fourth man through the bush, she was only catching glimpses of him and chasing mainly by sound. Then, she completely lost him. "You know you're not getting out of here on your own. Backup is on the way, so why don't you give yourself up now!" Kate called out hoping to bluff him out. But it didn't work. Before Kate could do anything, the man came out from behind her and had his gun against her back.

"Well if back-up is on its way, I guess I'm going to need a hostage to get out of here," the man said, "Now it's your turn to drop your weapon."

A million thoughts ran through Kate's head at that moment as she held her arms out and turned around to face the man. Any fear she had disappeared as she turned and saw Jim creeping up behind them.

"You know, I bet that isn't even loaded. Bloke like you, you probably just have it for show so that you can look tough, or maybe cover up for some other insecurity." Kate said to the man. She knew she had to keep his attention so that Jim could get close enough to them, and the first thing that came to mind was insulting him. It was a risky move, but it worked.

He took a step back and pointed the gun directly at Kate's head. "Really. You want to bet it's not loaded now?"

At that moment, Jim made his move crash tackling him from behind. The force and surprise of the hit knocked his gun out of his hands, but he wasn't done fighting. As Kate went to secure the gun, the man broke free from Jim and also went for the gun. Kate tried to draw her own weapon, but he was quick and punched her in the face before trying to pick up his gun. Jim was on top of him before he got very far and soon had him under control with his knee digging into his back and forearm holding his head down.

Kate picked up the stray gun and checked it. "What do you know, it was loaded." She said as she removed the ammunition.

"Everything alright here?" Dutchy asked as he appeared out of the bush trying to catch his breath from running.

"Everything is under control now." Kate said rubbing the side of her face before asking, "Have you got some restraints for him?"

"Sure do. Extra special tight ones." Dutchy said as he made his way over to Jim to take over from him.

Jim got up and moved over to Kate to take the gun off her. "You sure you're ok?" He asked as he tilted her head back with one hand and used his thumb to press around her eye to make sure nothing was too badly damaged, Kate flinching as he pressed on the point of impact.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kate said as she moved her hand to cover Jim's and take it away from her face before letting it go. "Let's get back to the rest of them, and back to the ship." She added. The others nodded and Dutchy got their prisoner to his feet.

"Papa 82 from Charlie 82." Kate said as she spoke into her radio.

"It won't work boss, I already tried from the clearing. We must be in a dead spot," Dutchy said.

"Right-o, let's just get back then." Kate said. Dutchy made his way up front with the prisoner, while Kate and Jim followed.

"Nice work on the explosion by the way, you haven't lost your touch." Kate said to Jim, almost managing a smile.

"At least I didn't have to burn my shirt this time." Jim said smirking and leaning in close to Kate hoping Dutchy wouldn't hear.

"I suppose that's a good thing." Kate said making eye contact with Jim and managing to smile. "Probably some paperwork to fill in if you burn an Army shirt."

Both Kate and Jim had been unaware that Dutchy had been able to hear every word until he spoke.

"Should I be concerned that this isn't the first time you two have done this sort of thing?" Dutchy asked.

"It's just like anything else Dutchy, practice makes perfect." Jim said smiling.

As they continued to walk Dutchy was wondering how and why Kate ended up dating someone like him. Someone who seemed to be so naturally outgoing and adventurous. Someone who wasn't all that different to him.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Satisfied that they now had their four prisoners under control and their two missing men back, the search party used the boats of the drug runners to make their way back to Hammersley. As they made their way out of the inlet, they noticed the pleasure cruiser that had been sitting just off shore had left.

"Must have taken off when they saw the explosion," Remarked Dutchy.

"We'll see if coast watch can do a fly-over, but it will be like finding a needle in a haystack now, we don't even know what direction they went in. Who knows, maybe the two they left behind might cut a deal." Kate replied motioning to two of the men they had in custody that didn't look too happy when they saw that their mate's hadn't waited for them.

As they arrived back at Hammersley, Kate started issuing orders. "Dutchy, Swain, prepare these boats for towing. Jim, you and your men can take these four to austere, 2Dads will show you the way."

"Ma'am!" RO called out from the back of Hammersley, "Navcom on the line for you, Commander White!"

"Thanks RO!" Kate called back, "Put it through to my cabin, I'll be there in a minute!" She looked to Dutchy and raised her eyebrows as if to say _this will be interesting_. He just chuckled as he placed a hand on her back while she stepped onto Hammersley. The unspoken communication between them did not go un-noticed by Jim.

Kate entered her cabin and went straight for the phone. "Commander White."

"Kate, there are a number of things we need to discuss. The first is that you should have told me about your prior relationship with Captain Roth. You also failed to inform me of the situation with the two missing men, and included yourself in a search party, without informing me that there even was a search!" Maxine's tone became stern.

"Ma'am, I...I apologize." Kate said sincerely, she knew she was in the wrong. "The situation with the missing men was critical. We didn't know where they were or what had happened to them, so we needed to start searching ASAP. I should have updated you on the situation, but I still believe it was the right decision to go on the search. As for the other matter, my knowing Captain Roth, the only opportunity I had to tell you was when I took your call, on the bridge with half the crew listening in, it wasn't really the time or place."

"OK, Kate." Maxine said, "But I expect your report on the search before you reach home port, and this discussion is not over."

"Yes Ma'am." Kate replied as they both hung up the phone.

Kate lent on the desk with her elbows and rubbed her forehead. All she wanted to do was go home, have a glass of wine and a long hot bath. She was close to being able to being able to make that happen, but there were many things that still needed to be done. She took a deep breath and made her way to the bridge so they could get moving. As she walked up the stairs onto the bridge, she ran into Dutchy.

"Everything secure and ready to go?" Kate asked.

"Yes Ma'am. Everything okay with Navcom?" Dutchy asked in response.

"It will be." She said giving a smile that was almost reassuring. "Alright everyone, time to head home. Dutchy, take the ship. I'll be in the seniors mess if anyone needs me."

"You're not going to take her home Ma'am?" Dutchy asked.

"Navcom want reports before we get back." Kate replied.

"You bosses get to have all the fun." Dutchy said laughing.

Kate turned to say something but saw his expression and decided against it. Instead she laughed as well and left to write up the necessary reports.

A few hours later after sending the reports through to Nacvom, Kate made herself a coffee. She stayed in the seniors' mess enjoying a few minutes to herself before they docked and the debriefing at Navcom that she knew was coming. She wondered if Mike would be there when she went in to see Commander White, and whether he would give her the third degree as well. Or if he was just going to make thing awkward if Commander White had any questions about Jim.

"You know, you made a mistake out there today." Jim said as he slid into the chair opposite Kate. He relaxed, leaning back in the chair, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to be sitting there talking to her.

"What mistake? What do you mean?" Kate asked as she sat upright in her chair.

"Earlier today, you referred to the incident with the mercenaries and the boy in Samaru as our second date, when you and I both know, we had more dates than that." Jim said with a smile.

"Really? Unless you are including the phone calls and e-mails before we met, then I don't see how I'm wrong." Kate said returning the smile, and starting to let her guard down.

Jim started laughing as he leaned in on the table. "No, I don't count phone calls as dates. First, there was dinner – which you walked out on,"

"You deserved it." Kate said interrupting him.

Rather than arguing, Jim continued. However he was talked fast to stop Kate from interrupting. "Second was the Consulate Reception. Now I know what you are going to say – it doesn't count as a date because neither of us knew the other was going to be there, but there was champagne, music and dancing, all components of a good date. Plus, even you have to admit, the morning after counts as a date," A mischievous grin appearing on his face.

Kate knew she had lost the argument. "Fine, I'll concede to the morning after, but not the reception." She smiled as she made eye contact with Jim and relaxed in her chair.

Dutchy had made his way down from the Bridge to let Kate know they were nearing port. He was about to interrupt them when he heard Jim's next question, and decided he would wait to hear the answer. He and Kate had a rocky start, but they had come to trust each other. He had backed her completely as both XO and CO, but after what he witnessed when they found Mike alive he had questions. Questions he would never actually ask her, but he was curious to know whether Kate and Mike actually broke any rules.

"Tell me something Kate, you and Mike, how long did you wait after he transferred off Hammersley?" Jim asked getting slightly more serious.

Kate couldn't quite understand why he was asking this, or why she felt compelled to answer, but after everything that happened, he deserved some answers. The reality was that between Mike not being willing to leave Hammersley and the misunderstanding over the replacements CO's list, she had started to seriously question whether letting Jim walk away was the right decision.

"About five minutes. But it got a bit complicated after that." She finally said.

"Complicated?" Jim asked

"There was a problem with the replacement CO, and Mike was transferred back onto Hammersley."

Jim couldn't stop himself from laughing. "You bit my head off for taking a few phone calls over dinner, and you didn't kill him for that?"

"It was only going to be for a few weeks. One thing leads to another, months later and a misunderstanding between us, and I nearly did more than bite his head off. Then I thought he had been killed. When we found him alive, well, nothing else mattered."

Dutchy was relieved as he heard this. It wasn't that he wouldn't have continued to support her as CO, it was that he knew he wasn't lying when he defended both her and her relationship with Mike to other sailors. Before he was caught out eaves-dropping, he knocked on the door to interrupt them.

"Sorry to interrupt Ma'am, but we are about 30 minutes from port." Dutchy said.

"You lot make quick time, I better go round up my lot." Jim said as he stood to make his exit. "I think Army will be buying the first round at the pub later. Will we see you both down there?" He asked as he was leaving.

"Never turned down a free drink before, don't see why I should start now." Dutchy said as the two men shook hands.

"Kate?" Jim asked when she didn't respond.

"I have some things to take care of, but I guess I can come down later." Kate said as she looked to Jim.

"See you both there then." Jim said and made his exit leaving Kate and Dutchy together.

As Kate got up to rinse her cup, she turned to Dutchy and asked "How much of that conversation did you just hear?"

Dutchy waited for Kate to look at him before he smiled, "What conversation is that boss?"

Kate half laughed at his response. "Just don't repeat it." She said. It wasn't an order, and she knew that it didn't really need to be said, she just really hated the idea of being the topic of conversation.

"Don't repeat what?" Swain asked walking in on the two of them. He could see the looks on their faces and decided not to push his luck. "Ah, never mind. Just came down to do a final check on Macca, he seems to be doing fine."

"Great news." Kate said. "Let's get this ship into port and go home."

As Kate left the mess, Swain shot Dutchy an enquiring glance to see if he would talk about the conversation he and Kate had just had. Dutchy just chuckled and patted Swain on the shoulder as he walked past him and up to the bridge.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

There was a buzz around the Hammersley as their port came into view. The various crew were talking about what they were going to be doing on leave, now that the end of their patrol was in sight. Bird was going to visit her family, Charge was talking to Swain about day of fishing and 2Dads was trying to talk RO into a night out.

"Ma'am, looks like we have a reception party." Dutchy said pointing to the EOD which was zoomed in on the port.

"Dutchy, tell me you're kidding." Kate said refusing to even look at the screen. She somehow knew that meant Mike would be there, but she was hoping that Commander White wouldn't be there as well. She didn't want to deal with what she knew she had coming in front of the crew.

"Afraid not Ma'am. But it looks like he's alone." Dutchy said clarifying for Kate who was there, as if he knew what she was thinking. Kate had been able to stay quite composed and professional in her dealings with Jim, so he was hoping Mike wasn't about to do something to threaten that.

"Who's alone?" Jim said as he entered the bridge. He walked over to look at the EOD which is where most of the crew had gathered. He immediately saw Mike and looked over to where Kate was still seated.

"No-one anymore." Dutchy said, as Kate turned to look at him. "Commander White has joined him."

Kate turned back around and couldn't help but slump down into her chair as Swain tried not to laugh at her reaction. He had seen her take on and beat many dangerous fishermen, mercenaries, drug runners and all-round bad people, so the fact that she was so intimidated by her CO was the source of much amusement for him and most of the other crew.

"Maybe they are here to congratulate you all on a job well done." Jim offered with a wry smile as he knew that would not be the case. Swain started to chuckle.

Dutchy then turned to Jim and with his own wry smile and chuckle offered "Or maybe it's to question why whenever you and the Boss see each other things get blown up." At that point, Swain completely lost it and burst out laughing, quickly followed by everyone else on the bridge except Kate.

"Swain," Kate said looking over to him "Whose side are you on here?"

"Sorry Boss." Swain said still stifling his laugh.

"Alright you lot, you've had your fun for the day, and you all still have jobs to do. Let's get safely into port so we can all leave for home." Kate said as everyone got back to work, most of them still laughing or shaking their heads while Jim made his way over to stand next to Kate. She looked at him, raised her eyebrows and asked "Seriously?"

"Sorry." Jim offered with a smile.

Kate made brief eye contact with him before turning away, "I wasn't lying, we still have work to do. Are you and your team ready to leave?" Kate asked in a serious tone to let Jim know the time for jokes was over.

"Packed and ready to go." Jim said getting back to his professional self. "I better get out of here and let you lot get back to work." With that Jim turned to walk off the bridge.

"Don't forget it's your shout at the pub later!" Dutchy called out after him while everyone else on the bridge let out a cheer at the prospect of free drinks.

With Hammersley safely in port, everyone had gathered down on the boat deck. Most of the sailors had changed out of their uniforms and were waiting for their final dismissal from Kate, while the SAS guys started to make their way of the boat. Kate had changed into her whites, prepared for her meeting at NAVCOM and made her way onto the boat deck with Jim behind her.

"Sir we are all ready to go." One of Jim's men called out.

"Ok, I'll be right behind you." Jim said. He looked over to where Mike and Maxine were standing, and could see that Mike was not impressed and was not taking his eyes off him and Kate. He looked back and could see Kate trying to look at Mike without making it appear obvious.

"I could give you a kiss." Jim said quietly to Kate so no-one else could hear, while Kate just looked at him, half confused, half horrified. "Make him jealous; give you a kiss, for old time sake." Jim clarified.

Kate relaxed a little and almost smiled as she realised he wasn't serious. "Or you could just leave and buy me a drink later." Kate said.

"Are you sure, I seem to remember it wasn't bad..."Jim said before Kate cut him off.

"Now, go." She said pointing at the gangplank. She managed to hide her laughter, but couldn't hide her smile at Jim's openness towards her.

"I know better than to argue with that tone. I'll see you later then." Jim picked up his bag to leave. He stopped when he reached Dutchy, the two men shaking hands and exchanging a laugh. With that, Jim then left Hammersley and Dutchy walked over to Kate.

"He's an interesting bloke." Dutchy offered. He still couldn't quite get his head around how well Kate and Jim got along. Not only did they work well together, but they also seemed to be able to talk like old friends. He wasn't convinced there wasn't still some attraction there, from both sides, but it didn't look like either of them would act on it. He also couldn't get over how similar he was to Jim, but how different he was to Mike.

"Don't start." Kate pleaded, and Dutchy could tell she had had enough.

"Fair enough. The crew are waiting for the OK to leave." Dutchy said as Kate nodded and the two walked over to the rest of the crew.

As Kate was congratulating the crew on a job well done in their last patrol, Jim made his way over to Mike and Maxine.

"Commander Flynn, you're looking much better than the last time I saw you." Jim said as he extended a hand.

"I could say the same about you, a head injury if I remember correctly." Mike said as he shook Jim's hand.

Maxine watched the exchange with amusement. She had assumed there would be some hostility, or jealousy, but if there was it was well hidden. She couldn't quite understand what was going on, and as she eyed Jim off, she had to admire Kate's choice in men.

"Commander White I presume." Jim said extending her hand to Maxine. "Tell me, does every patrol boat get visits from command on its return to port?" Jim asked as they shook hands.

"Only when they save the army's bacon." Maxine said with a smile as Jim nodded and lowered his head in defeat.

"Mike," Jim said changing the conversation, "I never had the chance to thank you, for Samaru. From what I'm told, you saved my life. If you are down at the pub later, I can start by buying you a drink." Jim offered to Mike.

As Mike was about to answer, his caught a glimpse of Kate saying good-bye to the last of the crew. He could see the bruise on her face, and she was clutching at her ribs. He knew most other people wouldn't have picked up on it, but to him, it meant her ribs were hurting more than she was willing to admit.

While still looking at Kate, Mike said "I read the report of what happened out there, and I think we can call it even." He then forced himself take his eyes off Kate and look back to Jim and smile. "But I'm sure I'll be down there later."

Jim nodded at Mike's response and looked over to see Kate walking towards them. "Commander White, it was nice to meet you. Mike, I'll see you later. Kate," Jim turned to face Kate who had now reached the group, "Always a pleasure." He said winking at her before smiling and walking away. As Jim left, Kate, Maxine and Mike were left standing together.

"Kate, I don't know you all that well, so don't take this the wrong way, but are there any other ex-boyfriends I should be on the lookout for?" Maxine asked. Mike looked at Maxine, while Kate looked at Mike.

"Well Ma'am, I'm not too sure about that yet." Kate said, not taking her eyes off Mike. Mike looked from Maxine to Kate and when he saw her glare, his expression changed to say _what did I do._

"You could have given me a heads up." Kate said simply.

"I didn't think you would laugh." Mike said shrugging, "I thought you would shoot the messenger."

"So you let me make the call without knowing the full situation. Charming." Maxine said. "Listen Kate, your full debrief on your last patrol will have to wait until tomorrow, I have some other matters to attend to. As for today, I have read the reports and you made the right decisions. Just keep me informed next time. You need to trust me to back your judgement."

"Yes Ma'am." was all Kate could say. She was sure she was going to be at least reprimanded.

"Mike, I'll see you back at Navcom, Kate, tomorrow, my office at 0800." Maxine said as she walked away.

Kate and Mike turned to each other, able to have their first private conversation in weeks. There was a range of emotions going through each of them with neither too sure what to say first.

"You could have warned me. I had to hear about it infront of the crew." Kate said, still a bit angry at Mike for not at least trying to warn her.

Mike nodded in a silent admission that he was wrong. "How's the eye?" He asked lightly touching the bruise.

"It will be fine." Kate said, not about to admit that it hurt like hell.

"And the ribs?" Mike asked.

"They've been better." Kate said with a smile. She still had no idea how Mike managed to pick up on the little things like her sore ribs, but got other things like warning her about Jim so wrong. "I can walk you back to Navcom if you like, before I go and meet the others."

Mike nodded and the two started walking back to Navcom. "So, you want to tell me the unofficial version of what happened out there?" Mike asked.

"Maybe later. But the short version is that everything is ok." Kate said, trying to ease any of Mike's fears about her and Jim. "What do you think about having Dutchy, Swain and Charge over for a meal while we are on leave?" Kate asked.

"Sure. Any particular reason?" Mike asked in return.

"I just...they back me up. Swain has Sally to make sure he eats properly on leave, but I'm pretty sure the other two live on pizza and beer." Kate said. She would fill Mike in on the incident between Dutchy and 2Dads later, but for now this was enough.

"Maybe I can get their version of what happened out there." Mike said with a smile before chuckling. "Picking up Jim at Reminiscent Wharf. You must have nearly hit the roof."

"Let's just say I'd be happy to not go back to that particular Wharf." Kate said as she looked at Mike and laughed.


End file.
